“They’re circling,” whispered Neferet. “I recognize the High Priestess in the center. That’s Zoey Redbird. And there, among those Warriors standing guard, is this world’s Stark. See the red tattoo on his forehead?” Neferet sucked in a shocked breath and continued, “That priestess closest to the grotto who stands in the position of fire—that is this world’s Aphrodite. The little traitor who betrayed me along with Stark.” She took Lynette’s shoulders between her hands and spoke quickly and earnestly. “You must get closer. You must try to overhear what spell they are casting. Can you do that for me, my precious handmaid?”
Lynette’s mind raced until it caught a plan. “Of course. I won’t fail you. Should you wait here? Will you be safe? Maybe you should call more fog to hide yourself.”
“I cannot do that without making them suspicious. Every vampyre in this park knows about concealment spells, and I’m afraid they would recognize it, especially after I so recently called fog for that purpose. No matter, I will remain here and await your return.”
“Okay, I’ll be as fast as I can.”
Before she hurried back to the sidewalk, Neferet took Lynette’s hand in both of her own. “Do not put yourself in danger. Do not let them take you from me, my dearest.”
“Never. Don’t worry. I’m good at this kind of thing.”
Lynette went back to the sidewalk, moving briskly alongside Peoria Street until she came to the Twenty-first Street intersection, where she turned right and headed directly for the group of vampyres and their lit candles. She thought it would be difficult to overhear what the priestess in the circle was saying, but her voice was filled with such power that it carried across the lawn. As the words drifted over her Lynette halted, pretending that she had a pebble in her shoe. She bent to take it off while she listened and observed, memorizing the words of the spell as well as the faces of each of the vampyres.
“Come, spirits of the earth.
I call on you this hour.
Repel those made vampyre through rebirth;
Henceforth they cannot cross this white line of power!”
Lynette realized it was some kind of spell focused on keeping vampyres away from the grotto. A chill skittered down her spine.
Do they know Neferet is here?
Determined to glean more information, Lynette straightened and inched forward. She sucked in a breath and froze. From a white, glittering circle that surrounded the grotto and the wall concealing it, enormous spectral beasts rose. They stood shoulder to shoulder, shimmering with power and blowing iridescent smoke from their nostrils.
Lynette recognized them instantly. She’d visited the untamed expanse of Oklahoma’s Tallgrass Prairie to view the free-grazing bison and their golden calves. It had always thrilled her and made her wonder at what it must have been like before the Native Peoples and their way of life had been strangled by European immigrants.
Lynette stared so long that she didn’t realize the circle had closed until the bison dissolved into the earth—though even she could feel that they remained, vigilant and protective.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
Lynette startled and instantly recognized James Stark, who in her world wasn’t a smiling red vampyre, but a blue vampyre general who had betrayed her mistress.
She clutched her throat and laughed nervously. “Oh, my! You frightened me.”
He stopped several feet from her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to let you know the park is closed right now.”
“Oh, I didn’t intend to go into the park. I work a late shift at St. John’s and taking a walk afterward always relaxes me.” Then she added with gushing gratitude, “Since you Warriors have taken to being in the park at night, I feel safe walking. It’s really quite nice.”
“Thank you. It’s our job to protect,” said Stark.
“I do appreciate that so much. Will you be here again tomorrow night?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. Though there won’t be as many of us tomorrow—but how about I tell the Sons of Erebus to keep an eye out for you?”
“Why, that’s very sweet. And now I’ll just head back the way I came so I don’t interrupt you further. Thank you, young man, and blessed be.”
“Blessed be, ma’am.”
Lynette turned and briskly retraced her path back to Neferet, who joined her on the sidewalk. Silently, they hurried across Peoria Street to disappear into the winding, opulent midtown neighborhood of Maple Ridge. Only when they were several blocks away did Neferet speak.
“I could feel her words, but I could not hear them. Could you make them out?”
“Yes! Every one of them—and I saw everything! Here’s what she said.” Lynette repeated the spell, word for word.
Neferet blew out a long, frustrated breath. “That meddling child! She’s cast a spell that will repel all vampyres from the tomb. I do not understand why this version of me didn’t do away with that troublesome girl before she Changed and became a powerful High Priestess.”
“She’s definitely powerful. I even saw them.”
“Them?”
“Bison! Or at least their spirits. They materialized all around the tomb—as well as above it. And you should’ve seen the response of the Warriors who were standing on top of the ridge overlooking the tomb. As soon as the bison appeared, they all jumped back—fast.”
“Zoey Redbird knows something is happening.” Neferet shook her head. “I was afraid of this when I used fog to conceal us yesterday. I should have considered the time of year and used a rainstorm, or even the concealment of shadows. So much fog was suspicious.”
“That, or someone from our world knows we’re here and they, too, have crossed the portal to warn Zoey and this House of Night,” said Lynette.
“Lynette, dearest, you
